Draft bill #10449 of January 30, 2024 

Sponsor: the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 

Status: sent for review to the Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence 

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens, service members, persons liable for military service, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military units, law enforcement agencies, businesses, local self-government bodies, local state administrations, local military administrations, local civil-military administrations, territorial recruitment and social support centers, administrative service centers, police, and the Cabinet of Ministers 

Summary: 

Provisions added in the new version are in Italics 

Leave for service members 

  • annual regular leave for service members will have to be used in parts of not less than 15 days 
  • for those released from captivity, an additional paid leave of 90 days will be provided. 

Powers of state and local self-government bodies 

  • local self-government bodies, local state administrations, local military administrations, and local civil-military administrations will: 
    • ensure the organization of conscription and distribution of youth for training and basic military service 
    • inform citizens about the progress of the mobilization 
    • keep records of conscripts, persons liable for military service, and reservists, as well as persons liable for military service who are exempted from conscription 
    • ensure planning and conduct of mobilization training and implement mobilization measures 
    • notify citizens about the call to arrive at assembly points and military units 
  • the Ministry of Defense will get more powers regarding the accumulation of weapons, formation of mobilization reserve, capacity-building, and development of mobilization plan and assessment of the needs of the Armed Forces. 

Requisition of vehicles 

  • the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Main Intelligence Directorate will have the right to requisite private vehicles 
  • dedicated state bodies responsible for accounting registered vehicles (the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Regional Development, and others) will transfer information to territorial centers for recruitment and social support about vehicles that can be earmarked for the logistical needs of the AFU 
  • it will not be allowed to send vehicles requisitioned for the needs of the Armed Forces to other regions or abroad. Also, it will not be allowed to transfer property rights on such vehicles, lease them long-term, or use them as a pledge. 

Conscription notice delivery 

  • the content of a conscription notice will be specified: the notice will have to indicate the place, day, and time for a person liable for military service to arrive at the territorial center for recruitment and social support 
  • officers of the National Police will participate in informing persons liable for military service along with representatives of the territorial centers for recruitment and social support 
  • conscription notices will be sent also via the online cabinet of a conscript, person liable for military service, or reservist or via e-mail 
  • a person liable for military service will be able to legitimately fail to report to the center for recruitment and social support only having the following reasons that are properly documented: 
    • natural disasters, illness, actions of the aggressor state, or other circumstances that have made it impossible for them to arrive within the specified timeframe 
    • the death of a family member (parents, spouse, children, siblings, grandparents) or a close family member of their spouse. 

What will happen if a person does not arrive at a recruitment center: 

  • if the citizen fails to report to the center for recruitment and social support and the police cannot transport the individual to the center within 15 days from the date stated in the conscription notice, the center will send him via email or in writing a request to fulfill his obligations 
  • if the citizen does not voluntarily arrive at the center within 10 days after the request, the center will submit a complaint to a local court regarding: 
    • temporary restriction of the individual’s right to leave Ukraine 
    • temporary restriction of the individual’s right to drive vehicles 
    • temporary seizure of money and other valuables of the individual placed in bank accounts or of electronic money in securities accounts 
  • a complaint will have to be filed within 5 days from the citizen’s failure to arrive at the center within 15 days 
  • the court will have to pass a verdict within 15 days from the day the proceedings are opened. If the parties do not show up, the verdict is considered in written proceedings 
  • court’s decisions on such cases will be executed immediately 
  • an appeal against the decision will have to be submitted within 15 days from the day the full court decision is handed over. Submission of an appeal does not suspend the decision’s execution. 

Border crossing 

  • if martial law is declared, Ukrainian male citizens aged 18 to 60 regardless of their military registration status will have to additionally present their military registration document 
  • this rule will not apply to employees of the diplomatic service and their family members. 

Military registration document 

  • citizens will be obliged to register in the online cabinet of a conscript, person liable for military service, or reservist, undergo a medical examination and be treated in accordance with the decisions of a military medical commission or recruitment center 
  • person liable for military service will be obliged to update their data at an administrative service center, recruitment center, or via an online cabinet within 60 days from the start of mobilization 
  • during the mobilization, citizens aged 18 to 60 years will be required to carry their military registration documents 
  • for the needs of defense during wartime, it will be allowed to conscript or engage in other work women registered for military service if they are willing 
  • military registration will also include: 
    • draftees who have completed basic military training 
    • citizens over 25 who have not been registered previously 
    • persons who have been released from correctional facilities 
  • while martial law is declared in Ukraine, consular services for men aged 18 to 60 years and liable for military service will be provided at foreign diplomatic institutions only if these men have military registration documents. Only the following services will be available without the documents: issuance of a pass to return to Ukraine; consular services concerning children of a citizen of Ukraine if the second parent is a foreigner or stateless person; notary services concerning inheritance; threat to life and health; arrest, detention, or imprisonment abroad. The same restrictions will apply during the issuance of a national or international passport. 

Mobilization age, deferment, and discharge from military service 

  • it will be allowed to mobilize citizens aged 25 years and older 
  • “partial fitness” status will be abolished 
  • mobilized persons will be allowed to apply for discharge after continuous service during martial law for 36 months 
  • the following citizens will have the right to deferment: 
    • persons with three or more underaged children, unless they are more than three months behind in child support payments 
    • persons with disabilities. They will have to reapply for deferment and undergo military medical examination each 6-12 months 
    • persons who take permanent care of their spouse, child, or parents, and the need for such care is confirmed by a military medical commission 
    • persons with an underaged child if the spouse is dead, stripped of parental rights, or declared missing or dead 
    • guardians of a person declared incapable by the court 
    • individuals who have a child under 18 years and the other spouse is in military service 
    • heads of ministries and their deputies, heads of state bodies and bodies of state administration if the jurisdiction of these bodies extends to the entire territory of Ukraine 
    • MPs 
    • judges, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, members of the High Council of Justice, members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Head and Deputy Head of the Disciplinary Inspector Service of the High Council of Justice, disciplinary inspectors of the High Council of Justice 
    • employees of the military management of military units of the Ministry of Defense, Armed Forces, State Special Transport Service, State Communications Service, Security Service, Foreign Intelligence Service, National Guard, State Border Service, State Security Administration, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and expert service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 
    • persons discharged to the reserve including those discharged after the release from captivity. 
  • Also, it will not be allowed to mobilize: 
    • students of vocational, advanced vocational, and higher education establishments who study full-time or under a dual form if they continue their education in the same field of study to receive the next higher degree 
    • postgraduate students who study full-time or under a dual form 
    • scientific and pedagogical employees of educational establishments with a workload of 75% or more. 
  • during mobilization for a special period, it will be allowed to conscript convicts on probation if they are willing (except for those convicted for crimes against national security or military offenses). 

Citizens eligible for deferment: 

  • state officials of category A, heads of oblast, raion, and city district councils, village, settlement, and city heads 
  • state officials of categories B and C — up to 50% of the number of employees liable for military service in the corresponding state or local government body 
  • persons liable for military service who are serving in the National Police, NABU, SBI, Bureau of Economic Security, State Border Service, prosecutors, Court Guard Service, courts, other state bodies and institutions of the judiciary and pre-trial investigation, patronage services 
  • employees of enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are critically important for the functioning of the economy, the life support of the population, and the needs of the Armed Forces or other military units during a special period, including the owners of these organizations 
  • employees of enterprises, institutions, and organizations working on mobilization tasks if these employees are essential for the implementation of these tasks. 

Basic military service and basic military training (BMT) 

  • instead of conscript military service, basic military service will be introduced for all citizens under 25. They will be able to choose the year and period of their service 
  • the term of basic military service: during peacetime — up to 5 months, while martial law is declared — up to 3 months 
  • the following draftees will be exempted from BMT: 
    • medically unfit for military service 
    • draftees who have served in the military of other countries before acquiring the Ukrainian citizenship 
  • basic military training (BMT) for obtaining military specialties will be organized at military higher education establishments, military departments of universities, training centers of the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies, vocational educational establishments, and universities (state, municipal, and private) 
  • BMT will be organized for citizens aged 18 to 25 
  • without BMT or basic military service, citizens will not be eligible to become civil servants, prosecutors, or police officers.

Transition Period 

  • the bill will come into effect one month from the day following its publication 
  • citizens who have military registration will be required to specify their residential address, contact phone number, email address, and other military record information within 60 days: 
    • if they are in Ukraine, they will have to visit a recruitment center or administrative service center 
    • if they are abroad, they will have to provide the information to the official email address or phone number listed on the recruitment center’s official website 
    • regardless of the location — via the online cabinet of a conscript, person liable for military service, or reservist 
  • Ukrainian citizens who were previously deemed partially fit by a military medical commission will have to undergo another medical examination within 9 months from the date this bill comes into effect 
  • Ukrainian citizens — students of educational establishments who had the right to a deferment but lost it will still be allowed to complete their full academic year 
  • Ukrainian male citizens aged 25 to 55 who obtained the status of a person with a disability of group II and III after February 24, 2024 (excluding amputation cases and disabilities obtained while defending Ukraine), will be subject to medical reexamination by the end of 2024. The reexamination will be based on the list of diseases, states, and physical defects approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 
  • male citizens serving in the National Police, Judicial Protection Service, State Bureau of Investigation, State Security Service, civil defense bodies and departments, and the State Penitentiary Service will be required to register as liable for military service at the territorial center of their residence within 60 days from the day the law comes into effect 
  • Ukrainian citizens removed from military records due to departure from Ukraine for more than 3 months will be required to register as persons liable for military service within 30 days from the day the Cabinet decree On the Accounting of Citizens Abroad comes into effect. During martial law, such citizens will have the right to unhindered entry and exit from Ukraine 
  • new basic military training will launch in 2025. 

Why this is important: the draft bill addresses one of the most sensitive issues for society (mobilization) and, at the same time, meets one of the urgent needs of the army — to ensure the staffing and reserve of the army to protect the state against the aggression of the Russian Federation. 

What is right: 

  • ensures that service members will be able to rest and recuperate after captivity 
  • minimizes loopholes allowing to evade requisition of vehicles 
  • regulates the process of conscript notice delivery and grants the authorities more powers concerning this issue 
  • facilitates the implementation of a unified system of records concerning conscripts, persons liable for military service, and reservists 
  • reduces the number of grounds for deferment from mobilization, leaving only the most important ones. 

What is wrong: 

  • shifts the problem of summoning citizens to local self-government bodies. This does not ensure a unified state policy on the matter of conscription and mobilization. Also, it is not a usual duty of local self-governments 
  • it is unclear how penalties for the failure to arrive at a recruitment center will be applied. They will be applied by a court for each individual case 
  • there is no legal certainty regarding the abolishment of the “partial fitness” status 
  • most likely, it will be impossible to implement the provision about discharge after 36 months of continuous service due to the scale of war, the lack of citizens prepared for active duty, and the threat of losing the most experienced service members 
  • the option to choose the year and period of basic military service will disrupt the consistent operation of the training centers of the Armed Forces: they will be sometimes idle and sometimes unable to incorporate all conscripts 
  • the prohibition to be a civil servant, prosecutor, or police officer without basic military training makes no sense since these citizens will be eligible for deferment 
  • provision that a person will be considered “notified” if it is impossible to deliver a conscription notice or a request to arrive at a territorial center of recruitment and social support does not comply with the principle of legal certainty and is absurd. Instead, a person can be notified via media following the same procedure that is applied in court absentee cases 
  • no penalty is established for representatives of the territorial centers for recruitment and social support for the failure to submit a complaint regarding the failure of a person liable for military service to arrive at the center. This will result in certain corruption risks. 

Alternative solution: the bill requires significant amendments. The issue of mobilization should not be a tool in political struggle. 

How to help the legislator: proposals concerning the draft bill can be sent to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence. 

Additional information: article by Oksana Zabolotna: How “legalized” evasion from mobilization undermines the country’s defense capabilities.